After a disappointing 2022-23 season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in which Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert often looked incompatible as a duo, there are plenty of questions about where the organization will go from here.
Towns’ future with the Wolves is a topic that many have wondered about lately, and according to multiple NBA executives, there’s no shortage of teams around the NBA that are seen as possible suitors for the big man.
The Miami Heat are among those teams. They’re joined by the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.
“Among the teams executives mentioned as potential suitors for Towns: Brooklyn and Miami (two teams that will inevitably come up in any potential superstar trade talks in the next six months, though the Heat’s Jimmy Butler has a rocky history with Towns), Portland (in a Damian Lillard deal?) and Indiana,” wrote Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “Should Boston consider dealing away All-Star wing Jaylen Brown, which is a longshot, the Celtics could offer the best single player in return for Towns.
“But if a Towns moves comes about, New York is the likeliest landing spot.”
Towns, just 27, is under contract through at least the 2026-27 season. He had a difficult 2022-23 season with Minnesota, but one has to imagine that his skill set is still valued around the NBA.
The former No. 1 overall pick was limited to 29 games in the regular season. He averaged 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from beyond the arc.
It’s worth noting that due to Towns’ availability issues this season, Minnesota only got to see him on the floor with Gobert for a total of 27 games in the regular season. The returns weren’t encouraging, but given the small sample size, it’s possible that the Wolves will give the experiment another chance next season.
In recent years, Towns has established himself as a player who’s typically good for around 25 points per game and a 3-point shooting clip in the ballpark of 40 percent. That wasn’t the case this season, though there are fair explanations for his struggles.
There’s no doubt that he’d be an impactful addition for the Heat, as Miami could really use a star-caliber stretch big to space the floor alongside Bam Adebayo. If Miami ends up pursuing Towns this offseason, it won’t be hard to see why.
But for now, the Heat have more pressing goals in mind, as they’re in the midst of a magical postseason run. The team recently eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks from the playoffs and is now preparing to face the Knicks in the second round.
